J.J. Spaun knows as well as anyone how one little shot can make such a huge difference, even if it's only 85 yards to a green in the shape of a red umbrella floating in the middle of a lake.
It wasn't a shot that won the U.S. Open. Spaun will be remembered far more for the driver he hit onto the 17th green at Oakmont to take the lead, and for the 65-foot putt on the last hole to cap off his sensational birdie-birdie finish at golf's toughest test.
This shot was five years ago at the Travelers Championship. It was no less important to Spaun, who has Type 1 diabetes but didn't know it at the time.
"It's crazy," said Andy Bessette, the executive vice president and chief administrative officer at Travelers Insurance, and a familiar face behind the tournament. "Not everything in life is for a reason, but at times you have to step back and think it's too weird it happened that way."
A 15-year tradition at the Travelers is "The Umbrella at 15 1/2 Challenge," where players during the pro-am hit an 85-yard shot at the umbrella that sits in the lake between the 15th and 16th holes at the TPC River Highland. The closest to the pin is given 10,000 to donate to charity.